unction
/ˈʌŋk.ʃən/
unction noun: an ointment or salve.
Noun (1)
unction (countable and uncountable, plural unctions)
- An ointment or salve.
- The King himſelf the ſacred Unction made, / As King by Office, and as Prieſt by Trade: […]c. 1678 (date written; published 1682), J[ohn] Dryden, “Mac Flecknoe”, in Mac Flecknoe: A Poem. […] With Spencer’s Ghost: Being a Satyr Concerning Poetry. […], London: […] H[enry] Hills, […]...
- A religious or ceremonial anointing.
- To be heir, and to be king / By sacred unction, thy deserved right.1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- A balm or something that soothes.
- A quality in language, address or delivery which expresses sober and fervent emotion.
- Krook almost smacks his lips with the unction of a horrible interest.1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter XI, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC
- "Well, I'll say this for myself. If there's anything out of order where I'm about, I don't miss it." "I believe you," said Bradly with unction.1938, Norman Lindsay, chapter XXI, in Age of Consent, London: T[homas] Werner Laurie […], →OCLC, page 223
- Unctuousness: A smug, exaggerated use of language; smarminess.
- Divine or sanctifying grace.
Noun (2)
unction (plural unctions)
- A gathering of uncs.
unction meaning in Tamil, Urdu and Kannada
unction in Tamil
- களிம்பு, தைலம், தைலப்பூச்சு, சமயத் திருமுழுக்கு, அபிசேகம், முழுக்குத் தைலம்
unction in Urdu
- غازہ, انضماد, لیپ, مالش, مرہم, پاک روغن
unction in Kannada
- ಹಚ್ಚುಮದ್ದು, ಹಚ್ಚುಗೆ, ತೈಲಮರ್ದನ, ಅಭ್ಯಂಜನ, ಅಂಗಭೋಗ, ತೈಲಲೇಪನ
Forms of unction
| plural | unctions |
|---|
Origin of unction
Borrowed from Latin unctiō.
Blend of unc (“older man”) + function (“social occasion”)
Words formed from unction
Words that rhyme with unction
Questions about unction
- What does unction mean?
- Unction means an ointment or salve.
- What is unction in Tamil?
- Unction in Tamil is களிம்பு, தைலம், தைலப்பூச்சு. See Unction meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is unction?
- Unction is a noun.
- How do you pronounce unction?
- Unction is pronounced /ˈʌŋk.ʃən/.
- What is the plural of unction?
- The plural of unction is unctions.
Words near unction in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: unction (page history and authors); unction (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); unction (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); unction (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “unction.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/unction. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.